


I Like Me Better

by Queen_of_Run_On_Sentences



Series: Zukka Songfics [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Fuck Miss Rona, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Lesbian Toph Beifong, M/M, Pansexual Aang (Avatar), This Is A Modern Fic But The Corona Virus Never Happened, mentions of anorexia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27345595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_of_Run_On_Sentences/pseuds/Queen_of_Run_On_Sentences
Summary: Soulmates, Zuko thinks, are funny things.  The lore behind them is so intricate.  That is why, on his 16th birthday, when he sees the words etched onto his skin, he promptly rolls his eyes.***Soulmate sentences will appear on everyone's body at 16.  They can be the first thing they say to you, the last thing they say to you, or the most honest thing they'll ever say to you.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Toph Beifong, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zukka Songfics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908199
Comments: 8
Kudos: 212





	I Like Me Better

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone in this fic is AT LEAST 18. 
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Also the song is I Like Me Better by Lauv
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING I TALK VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT ANOREXIA PLEASE BE CAREFUL
> 
> btw Clover means think of me in flower language ♥

_I don't know what it is but I got that feeling_

**October 31st, 2020, 11:38pm**

Zuko scowled as Sokka pulled him into the house. "Sokka, buddy, why the fuck are you dragging me into a house filled with drunk and horny teenagers?"

Sokka rolled his eyes, tightened his grip on Zuko's wrist and pulled him further into the crowd of grinding teens. "Zuko, there's something you need to see, okay? You'll love it."

Zuko groaned to himself quietly, but upon feeling Sokka's hand tighten, his chest filled with something unfamiliar, and that terrifies him.

Sokka pulls him into an empty bedroom, and then promptly pushes Zuko against the bathroom door. Zuko's heart stutters to a stop as Sokka's face get way too close for comfort. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. I'm so sorry Zuko, fuck, I must have tripped," and just like that, the weight of Sokka disappeared from his chest. It pains him, just a little, because he feels guilty. Zuko knows he has an attraction to Sokka, he has for a while now, probably about two years. That doesn't help the fact that he has a soulmate, someone who is waiting for him, someone who probably will choose to leave after they see his face.

Good thing it's Halloween then, yeah?

Sokka successfully pushed him into the bathroom and pulled open the shower curtain to reveal- "It's a pineapple slut!"

Zuko swears his heart stops beating. Sokka said it, he said the words, but that doesn't make any sense because it's supposed to be the first thing they say, the last, or the-

Zuko starts laughing, he doubles over and he can't seem to get ahold of himself, because goddammit of course the most honest thing Sokka would tell him is there's a pineapple with a thong on it just sitting in someone's bathtub.

_Waking up in this bed next to you_

**February 16th, 2021, 3:06am**

It's been just about four months since Sokka said the words, and Zuko, well, he wouldn't ever burden Sokka with the knowledge that he's supposed to love Zuko. He deserves so much better than Zuko. Sokka is such a lovely, wonderful man, he deserves to have a beautiful wife or husband. 2.5 kids, and some gerbils. Besides, Sokka has Suki anyways, they have always made a lovely couple. He isn't about to rid Sokka of happiness for Zuko's own selfish desires. While Zuko is laying in his bed, he hears his front door open and close, and well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Tears are streaming down Sokka's face when he barges into Zuko's room and throws himself on the bed. "Shit, Sokka, what the hell happened? Are you hurt?" Zuko quickly got up and went to crouch in front of Sokka's face while he brushed the hair out of his eyes. Sokka shakes his head and curls closer to Zuko. Zuko, lost for words, just keeps petting Sokka. Sokka's sobs echo around the room as he stains Zuko's pillows with tears, and Zuko's heart just aches for him. He doesn't know what happened, but Sokka has only ever cried when his mom had died, and Sokka went into a depression so deep he ended up developing anorexia.

After about an hour, Sokka cries died down and now he's just sniffling. "She- she left me, Zuko." Zuko's head snaps up as Sokka lets out another pitiful sound. "Oh no, I'm so sorry Sokka, I really, truly am." Sokka looks behind Zuko, he looks towards the moon, and Zuko can feel Sokka's heart breaking. Zuko crawled into the bed and curled up right behind Sokka. Sokka started crying again, but eventually became so tired he fell asleep with tears staining his cheeks.

When Sokka wakes in the morning, and he sees a flash of black writing on Zuko's hipbone, but then Zuko curls into him closer and Sokka's heart still feels broken, but it warms at the fact he has Zuko, he wouldn't be okay if it wasn't for Zuko. He loves him, with the entirety of his being. Heart, mind and soul, they all belong to Zuko.

_Swear this room it ain't got no ceiling_

**April 26th, 2021, 7:37am**

Sokka sleeping at Zuko's place became such a regular thing, that Zuko had asked him to move in. Sokka ended up taking Zuko's computer room, and now they are roommates. Zuko really should have thought about the consequences of having your unknowing soulmate living with you. When Sokka walks around shirtless, Zuko wants to taste everything that is on display. He wants to grab Sokka's hips and shove him into a wall, he wants Sokka to choke him on the bed while mercilessly using Zuko's body for Sokka's own pleasure, Zuko wants, and wants, and wants, but he can't have. That's okay, really, Sokka will find better and when he moves on and leaves Zuko in the past, Zuko will be okay with that, really.

The upsides of having Sokka live with him, is he always has someone who wants to cuddle. When Azula and Toph had announced that they ended up being soulmates, Zuko's jealously had flared, but he's happy for his sister, he really is. They make an awesome power couple. Sokka had seen the jealously written all over his face, and had straight up sat in his lap and wrapped his arms around Zuko's neck, exclaiming, "It's okay, Dragon, I'll be your lover!" and had promptly kissed Zuko right on the cheek. Maybe that's when Zuko should have known about his feelings for the boy.

Zuko, who was not watching Supernatural, thank you very much, is lounging on a couch in their living room when Sokka comes home from work. "How was work," Zuko asks Sokka, who is putting groceries away in the fridge. "It was good! We have a large order placed for a wedding. They want a black and pink rose aesthetic. They were a gorgeous couple, Dragon, you should have seen them."

Sokka walks over to the couch and places his weekly flower crown on Zuko's head. Zuko smiles, "That's great, Clover, I'm so happy for you!"

Sokka beams at him as he throws his legs over Zuko's and steals the remote from Zuko's hand.

Zuko smiles and lays his hand over Sokka's knee.

_If we lay let the day just pass us by_

**July 28th, 2021, 9:12pm**

For the first time in two months, they both have the same day off. They lay in bed, curled around each other. Zuko's heart is troubled, he wants Sokka to be happy, and he doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but the darker, selfish part of him wants to shove Sokka against a wall and suck his cock all the way down to the root and swallow everything Sokka is willing to give him. Zuko wants nothing more than to bring this beautiful man beside him to the brink of insanity with want. Zuko, above all else though, wants to be loved. Sokka does love him, Zuko isn't stupid, but Sokka is his fucking soulmate so they're fucking perfect for each other but Zuko will not put this onto Sokka.

Sokka deserves someone who isn't broken. He deserves someone who will cherish him to the best of their abilities and never make him doubt anything. Sokka deserves the love he gives so desperately. Sokka is a once in a lifetime kind of person, and it is such an honor to have Sokka curled around him, to have Sokka's head on his chest while he breathes deep, safe and sound. A tear falls from Zuko's eye, and then another, and another, and another, until there's a waterfall of heartache tracing it's way down his cheek, and his heart physically shakes, his heart burns with the intensity of a thousand suns and he wants so desperately to give Sokka everything he deserves.

But Zuko is tainted with a lifetime of trauma and he would not ever put that onto someone he loves. Katara knows, had seen the words one day when he reached for something for her and his shirt rode up, and of course Sokka had told everyone about "The Pineapple Incident" and the way she looked at him, it was somewhere between disappointment and understanding. She didn't ask and he didn't tell. Maybe she knows, deep down, that Sokka deserves so much better (and he does, he really, really does) because Zuko's kind of love is chaotic. The only love he grew up with is Sokka's. The entire day, all they did was lay in Zuko's (their) bed and talk to eachother in hushed whispers as if their words were never meant for anyone else.

Maybe Zuko will say something, someday, when Sokka is happily married with 2.5 kids and some gerbils.

_I might get to too much talking_

**October 31st, 2021, 6:28am**

There's a storm brewing outside. The wind is thrashing, the rain is pounding, and Zuko is breaking. The storm knocked everything off the grid. Power doesn't work, their phones are dead, and they are cold. No amount of blankets are helping and somehow they are still just fucking cold. So, Zuko is currently losing his mind, because Sokka has stripped down to his underwear and has demanded that Zuko do the same. No, no, no, no, Sokka cannot see his tattoo, he fucking can't, it will ruin everything- Zuko suddenly wants to hit himself. The fucking power is out, Sokka can't see shit.

He undresses down to his boxers and they climb underneath the blanket. They huddle together for warmth, which is nothing new to them, obviously, but the Sokka's hand accidentally touches the raised skin of his tattoo and he feels Sokka turn his head towards Zuko. "You heard your words?" Zuko swallows past the lump in his throat, his mouth is also a desert, there's probably a tumbleweed rolling around in there somewhere. "I- um-" Zuko clears his throat, "yes, but they don't feel the same." He swears there's disappointment in Sokka's voice when he asks, "how are you sure?"

Zuko thinks it over for a minute, "I suppose I don't, not really, but _look_ at me, Sokka, who would want me?" Sokka's voice sounds angry, "So many people Zuko, do you even pay attention to all the people who check you out?" Zuko snorts, "maybe they think I own a drug ring and have money."

Zuko can feel the eye roll. "Zuko you foster kittens for a living."

Zuko smirks, "that's what makes it funny."

Sokka does start laughing, so ha, point for Zuko. Sokka suddenly gets very serious.

"Zuko, when did they say the words?"

_I might have to tell you something_

**October 31st, 2021, 6:31am**

Zuko swallows nervously, "October thirty first, twenty twenty."

He feels more than sees the breath Sokka lets out, and then Sokka is crying and, "you asshole, why didn't you fucking tell me that you're my soulmate?! You've known for a whole fucking year and you just kept that shit to yourself?! How are you so selfish?!" Sokka is trying to get out from under the blanket but Zuko grabs him and pulls him back down, "Sokka, Sokka, please, stop moving." Sokka twisted even harder and Zuko had to flip them over and trap Sokka between his thighs. "Sokkay, Sokka, stop, please let me explain, please," Zuko asked calmly. When Sokka continued to struggle, Zuko thought, fuck it, and grabbed both of Sokka's wrists in one hand and raised them above Sokka's head and firmly pressed them down into the couch.

"I thought you deserved better than me, Sokka! I still do. I'm so broken and you're so beautiful and light, and loving, and I would fucking destroy you. I've been in love with you, even before the tattoo appeared. I have loved you since we were fourteen, Sokka, please. I din't want to hurt you, I just wanted to see you happy." Sokka finally quit squirming around long enough to see the tears leaking from Zuko's eyes. "Please, Sokka, please don't hate me. I am so sorry I didn't tell you but please understand why. It wasn't because I didn't want you, because I do, but I'm.... me, and you're everything that's beautiful."

Sokka opened is mouth, "I'm still angry at you, but I'm also very cold, and very much in love with you, so please for the love of everything that is holy-" Zuko heard all he needed to, he surged forward and kissed Sokka with every single fiber of his being. He poured six years worth of love into a single kiss, and he will forever be in love with the man below him.

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys want smut added on to this please let me know ♥


End file.
